The woman booted from Peter Kay's Manchester gig has branded the comic a 'bully' after he likened her to Lisa Riley. During his show at the AO Arena on Saturday night (February 8), Peter Kay stopped the performance to remove two audience members. Peter broke his silence on the matter via a statement shared with Good Morning Britain on Tuesday morning. The incident began when a man, reportedly shouting 'garlic bread' repeatedly, was the first to be shown the door, followed by a woman who yelled 'we love you, Peter', who was also removed by security. It's said Peter called the woman "Lisa Riley" before she was shown the door.
Myar Curran, the gig-goer who was compared to the Emmerdale actress by Peter, attended the show with her dad, auntie, best friend, and boyfriend, as a devoted fan of the Bolton-born comedian. Dressed in a zebra top, she was thrilled to finally see him perform live. "We bought these tickets ages ago so we've been waiting years for this," Myar, 25, shared with the Manchester Evening News. "We were so looking forward to it. I lost my mum a couple of years ago and she was supposed to come to the show so it was something that was going to be very special to us.".
However, when Myar shouted 'we love you Peter' during the second half, Kay interrupted his act to instruct security to 'get her out'. She insisted she had no connection to the earlier heckler despite being seated nearby, reports the Manchester Evening News. As she was led out, Kay called out from the stage: "Go on, off you go Lisa Riley.". Myar, who had made the journey from Scotland for the show, was left in tears at her hotel due to the remarks and the audience's laughter at the 23,000-capacity venue. "I do feel he was on about my weight," the mum-of-one expressed. "I know Lisa Riley has lost a lot of weight and looks great but she used to be a bit bigger. I didn't used to be this big, I have put a bit of weight on, I've had a child.".
She continued, "I'm self-conscious about that so to go to a show and feel like you're having the mick taken out of you because of your weight, I was just a bit shocked. I'm annoyed and upset about it. The whole arena was laughing, I think they thought it was part of the show but there was a nastiness to his voice. "It was like he was trying to get the crowd against me - it just wasn't nice, to be honest. I did have a cry about it after I got to the hotel room. I was just so upset. It was just a very rubbish situation. My whole family was disgusted by it.".
In response, Peter Kay stated this morning that he 'didn't realise' his comment 'was an insult'. Speaking to ITV's Good Morning Britain, he said, "She did look remarkably like Lisa Riley, I didn't realise that was an insult." Lisa Riley herself has spoken out about the incident, urging on Instagram: "PLEASE [praying hands emojis] draw a line under this now, I am not offended, never was offended. I love Peter Kay to pieces. Laughter is my favourite medicine.".
Responding to Peter's comments, Myar expressed her feelings: "Well, I think he knew exactly what he was doing. If I was a bit skinnier, he wouldn't have made the comparison. There was no pussyfooting about it, it was definitely about my weight and how I looked. You don't need to take the mick out of somebody for their weight, it's just out of order really. He used to be a bigger man. It was like he was being a bully - there was a lot of anger and nastiness to it.".
Myar also mentioned her regret that Lisa Riley has been dragged into this mess through no fault of her own, saying, "I just don't want Lisa to think I'm offended by being compared to her." She declared she is certain she will 'never' tune in to the comedian's work again after the incident left her deeply hurt and diminished her respect for him. "It's just really gutting," she said. "I might have understood it if I was shouting an insult but I wasn't. He didn't need to make it personal. I honestly don't think I'll ever watch him again.".
